Clay Bollinger is a college athletics creative strategist with more than a decade of experience building brands, leading teams, and modernizing how programs compete for attention, recruits, and revenue.
Currently serving as the University of Cincinnati’s Director of Content Strategy, Bollinger leads football creative strategy with a focus on elite recruiting, brand growth, and scalable content systems — working cross-functionally across athletics, NIL, communications, and sponsorship.
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SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWING: 14,400+
HELPING COLLEGE ATHLETICS PROGRAMS COMPETE WHERE ATTENTION IS WON.
As 2026 begins and the team returns for the first workouts of the year, it’s a natural moment to reflect on what we built in 2025. With over 124 million impressions across platforms, it was the most successful social media season in school history. A 447% year-over-year growth in this…
Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff is headed to Cincinnati this weekend, creating another high-value opportunity to expand our gameday content plan and elevate the Bearcats brand on a national stage. Two national shows in three weeks is an awesome opportunity to showcase all the great things happening here. We’re also looking…
This week marks 6 months as the Director of Content Strategy for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats! I’m motivated to start sharing more insights again like I was last year! I really enjoyed doing that and hope that someone can take just one thing away from these posts to help…
In the world of college athletics content, most teams focus on the day-to-day — reacting to the next game, announcement, or viral moment. But what if you approached content like a football program? Just like football has offense, defense, and special teams, your creative strategy should include real-time content, evergreen…
In college athletics, content has the power to do more than fill timelines — it can define a brand. The most effective creative departments today aren’t just “making things.” They’re aligning with athletic directors, coaches, and collectives to move the needle in recruiting, NIL, sponsorship, fundraising, and fan engagement. In…
For years, college sports content revolved around team brands—highlights, press conferences, and behind-the-scenes clips curated by institutions. But the game has changed. Today, fans want unfiltered access to the athletes themselves. Authenticity, relatability, and personal connection are driving engagement in ways that traditional team accounts simply cannot replicate. The numbers…
Clay Bollinger 